History 4030

Research Paper

Your research paper is an exploration of a particular event, theme, or issue related to the Russian Revolution.  [You may define Russian Revolution as broadly as Fitzpatrick and Pipes define it.]  Your paper, 20-25 pages in length including bibliography, should make use of the skills and methods you worked on in this course, and should interact in some way with the theoretical questions raised in this semester's main readings.

Your research paper will draw on the other, earlier essays that you write for this class, especially the historiographic essay.  Two days before you present your paper to class, please email me a copy of it as an attachment.  Your rough draft will be posted on this website; each of you is to read your classmates' rough drafts BEFORE the in-class presentation, and be prepared to make comments and suggestions.  The rough draft is not graded; it is for feedback.  Your final draft is due December 17 by 10 am.

Your paper should include the following sections.

Introduction:

The introduction section of your paper must state your thesis, one that makes a particular contention or argument or interpretation, and points to the significance of your research. The introduction should briefly explain the focus of the paper, should preview the argument you will make, and give some sense of the direction of the paper.

Historiography section:

In this section, you will discuss the scholarly works on your topic-with attention to arguments and interpretations that you find valuable for your paper, and to those with which you disagree. This section should also discuss the primary sources that you will be using as evidence.

Methodology:

You need to discuss the sorts of methods and/or theories you use in this paper. What questions are you asking, and how can they be answered?

The body of the research paper:

After all the preliminaries, the bulk of your paper should be a clear presentation and analysis of your topic, using primary and secondary sources as evidence.

Conclusion:

Do not be afraid to repeat yourself here! The purpose of a conclusion is to pull your paper together, and make clear that you have argued and supported your thesis. A conclusion is not the place to introduce new material.

Citations:

Please use proper footnotes.  Use Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations, 6th edition, as a guide for all forms of citation.  Please use footnotes (see Turabian Chapter 8).  Do not use parenthetical notation.  

Bibliography:

Your bibliography (unlike your annotated bibliography) just contains the basic bibliographic information on the works you have cited; it should not have commentary. Use Turabian's guidelines. Separate primary and secondary sources.

Writing style is important.  Use proper grammar, appropriate vocabulary, complete sentences with varied structure; make paragraphs coherent, make sections cohesive and flowing, and so on.